Less Stress, Greater Well-being for Dementia Care Partners

She has been known to strike or bite at random. The brain can do that to you, when the ability to control impulses is affected. I usually approach her with caution in the back of my head but this time was different. Something about her told me to let go, and I allowed myself to join her fully as she moved her head and arms to the rhythm of the drums. She seemed thoroughly content and uttered a few words of appreciation. She grabbed both of my hands and brought me even closer to her. She made it clear that she wanted to cradle my face the same way a mother would with her child. In that moment, there was no doubt about her love. That was not enough, she wanted our foreheads to touch. In between garbled words, I heard “We need to hang out more together”.